Mie Tha Lah

Hein Zae Mining Zone, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar • 2000s

Rebels took Mie Tha Lah’s father during the night in November 1989, the turbulent year when the military dictatorship declared martial law and changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar. The whole family was suspect in the disappearance of Ka Law Lah. Uniformed government officials questioned twelve-year-old Mie Tha and his mother, older brother, and younger twin sisters. Their questions made clear a suspicion that the family had ties with the rebels, and possessed secret information about the missing Ka Law. The government did not believe this was an abduction.

Truly, the family had no inside information. Their only news source, they shared with the government: Coworkers of Ka Law in the northern city Maw Chi Mining Zone, who reported him missing. The family didn’t know where he was taken or if he was still alive.